The invention relates to a method for adapting a rinsing program in a dishwasher machine and a dishwasher machine for using this method.
In addition to the conventional use of dishwashing agent which is present in powder form and is inserted in a dishwashing agent dispensing device usually located in the door of the dishwasher machine and is dispensed by this at a pre-determined time and in addition to the use of liquid rinse aid which is also inserted in a dishwashing agent dispensing device usually located in the door of the dishwasher machine and is dispensed by this at a pre-determined time and in a pre-determined quantity, agents in tablet or gel forms of administration have been known for some time, which not only contain the actual dishwashing agent but also those components required as consumables during a rinsing phase. Thus, for example, combination products have been known for some time, so-called “2 in 1 tabs” or “2 in 1 gels” which contain the rinse aid in addition to the dishwashing agent and “3 in 1 tabs” or “3 in 1 gels” which in addition to the dishwashing agent and the rinse aid, also contain a chemical which replaces the function of the softening device. According to the idea of the manufacturers of these tabs or gels, the respective components are used precisely at that time during the rinsing program run at which these components have their optimal effect.
However, since the rinsing program run depends both on the rinsing program selected in each case, the manufacturer of the dishwasher machine and also on individual model types, the use of tabs or gels can have the result that for example, the rinse aid is released into the rinsing solution at a time when no rinsing is taking place so that in an actual partial program section “rinse”, there is no more corresponding rinse aid. This is because in some known tabs or gels, the release of the rinse aid is merely coupled to the ambient temperature so that when this temperature is exceeded during a partial program section “clean”, rinse aid is released.
In another embodiment of the rinsing program it can be that the rinse aid is not activated so that likewise no rinsing effect is achieved, but the rinse aid is still present in undissolved form, for example, after the end of the rinsing program.
Since the rinse aid usually primarily has the function of breaking down the surface tension of the rinsing solution, the lack of rinse aid in the rinsing solution results in reduced flowing away of the residual water remaining on the items to be cleaned in the partial program section “dry” which yields a substantially inferior drying result compared with the use of a rinsing solution with a rinse aid component.
When using tabs or gels with a corresponding chemical which replaces the function of the softening device, the disadvantage similarly arises that the quantity of chemical located in the tabs or gels is not matched to all degrees of water hardness so that depending on the particular region, the use of tabs or gels either reduces the degree of hardness too much or does not sufficiently reduce the degree of hardness. In particular, the use of water with insufficiently reduced water hardness results in a lower efficiency of the dishwashing agent and the rinse aid and a substantially inferior cleaning and drying result is thereby achieved.
As a consequence of this use of tabs or gels, the user of the dishwasher machine can detect that the cleaning performance and/or the drying performance is not satisfactory and in many cases causatively attributes this result to the dishwasher machine although the cause lies mainly in the use of tabs or gels.